The typical influencer outreach is transactional: DM with a pitch, offer money, get a post. This produces generic sponsored content that audiences have learned to ignore. The better approach is relationship-first — build genuine familiarity before the ask.
This requires consistent engagement over weeks. Clawdbot tracks the pipeline: who you're warming, how far along each relationship is, and when to transition from engagement to outreach.
Why Micro Over Macro
| Metric | Micro (5K–100K) | Macro (1M+) |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement rate | 3–8% | 0.5–1.5% |
| Audience trust | Higher — perceived as peer | Lower — perceived as celebrity |
| Niche relevance | High — topic-specific | Broad — mass appeal |
| Cost per post | $200–2,000 | $50,000–500,000 |
| Partnership flexibility | High — open to creative deals | Low — requires media buyers |
| DM response rate | 60–80% | 5–15% (usually through agent) |
Influencer Qualification Criteria
Follower count is the least important metric. Qualify on these signals instead:
Engagement rate
3%+ on last 10 posts — below this, the audience isn't engaged
Audience-topic match
Their followers should be your buyers — check their comment section for job titles
Content authenticity
Organic product mentions in past posts > sponsored posts. Ratio should be 5:1+
Posting consistency
At least 2 posts/week — dormant accounts have decayed audience attention
Fake follower check
SparkToro or HypeAuditor — accounts with 30%+ suspicious followers are worthless
Finding the Right Accounts
Competitor follower lists
Accounts following your competitors often follow adjacent category creators. Filter by engagement.
Hashtag top posts
Search your category hashtags — top posts show accounts with proven engagement in your space.
SparkToro audience research
Input your ICP (job title, location, interests) — SparkToro returns accounts they follow and engage with.
Podcast guest lists
Niche podcast guests are pre-qualified as subject matter experts with existing audiences.
Relationship Pipeline
4-stage pipeline. Clawdbot tracks where each account sits and surfaces when to advance:
Stage 1: Identified
Qualified account added to watchlist. Begin monitoring content.
Stage 2: Warming
Consistent engagement — like and comment on 3–4 posts per week for 3–4 weeks. No DMs yet.
Stage 3: Engaged
They've responded to a comment, liked your reply, or followed back. Clawdbot flags this.
Stage 4: Pitch-ready
3+ genuine interactions. Now initiate a DM — referencing something specific they posted.
The pitch after 4 weeks of genuine engagement has a 60–80% positive response rate. Cold pitch to the same account: 5–10%.
When and How to Pitch
Keep the first DM about them, not your product:
"Hey [Name] — loved your piece on [specific topic]. The point about [specific thing] matches exactly what we're seeing.
We've been building [product] for [ICP] — think there could be an interesting angle here for your audience. Would you want to take a look?"
No rate cards, no follower minimums, no campaign briefs in the first message. The goal is a conversation, not a transaction.
Clawdbot Configuration
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Account monitoring | Daily — new posts from watchlist accounts |
| Engagement drafts | 3 comment variations per new post from target accounts |
| Stage tracking | Pipeline stage per account with last interaction date |
| Pitch trigger | Alert when account hits Stage 3 (positive interaction) |
| Pitch draft | Personalized DM based on their last 5 posts — human approval required |
| Pipeline size | 20–40 accounts active at once; rotate as deals close |
Foundation
Haven't set up Clawdbot yet?
OpenClaw + Telegram + Claude. Takes ~20 minutes.
